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hot topics

Q: Seafood safety?

Posted Saturday, March 10, 2007 3:51 AM

Q: Is it safe to eat fish while TTC?  

A: When you say sayonara to birth control, you should also bid adieu to those swordfish steaks. Swordfish, shark, orange roughy, king mackerel, marlin, grouper and tilefish are all high in mercury, a neurotoxin that can harm a fetus’s developing brain and nervous system. Mercury can linger in your body for a year or more, so you should eliminate those fish from your diet when you’re TTC (or, ideally, a year before you start).

All sea creatures aren't off limits, though. Most fish and shellfish other than those listed above are safe for unborn babies and offer lots of low-fat protein and omega-3 fatty acids, both crucial to the health of you and your future baby.

QA Index

Posted by Paula K
Filed under: ,

Comments

re: Q: Seafood Safety?

WRONG! you can eat tuna while pregnant. the others are out, but not "most tuna." that is patently false, and in fact, it's important to get enough fatty acids while pg for fetal brain development. nixing tuna a year before TTC is not doing your baby any favors.

Posted by readytobedone    Wednesday, April 18, 2007 4:50 PM


re: Q: Seafood Safety?

thanks for your feedback... you're right, it's misleading to say 'most tuna.' however, do be careful around it -- some kinds, particularly white albacore, are relatively high in mercury and should only be eaten once a week. find more info at the FDA's website: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/mercury/backgrounder.html

Posted by Paula K    Tuesday, May 08, 2007 9:27 AM


re: Q: Seafood Safety?

I use the seafood eating guide from Oceans Alive, which is easy to read and follow. They glean info from government websites, but also use the very newest research available to determine the safety of the seafood we eat. Tuna (even canned) is still limited to 3 a month. It's basically like this: tuna is a large animal on the top of the food chain, so even the safest tuna builds up mercury in its system to a certain degree. While it's a healthy meal for the reasons the above poster mentions, because of mercury content I won't eat it more than three times a month.  HTH!

http://www.oceansalive.org/eat.cfm?subnav=healthalerts

Posted by CraftyRachel    Friday, October 19, 2007 1:22 AM


re: Q: Seafood Safety?

You're probably best avoiding most, if all seafood. I'm a physician and our recent speakers suggest fish oil supplements (mercury free of course) and suggest eliminating seafood, however, smaller animals are generally best, like catfish and sardines. Large fatty fish store higher amounts of metals.

Posted by mehna    Friday, February 08, 2008 4:19 PM


re: Q: Seafood Safety?

Last night I found out I'm 5 weeks pregnant but last weekend I went out for sushi!! I have not seen my Dr. yet but now I'm worried about the mercury. I had all types of fish and all raw! Should i be worried??

Posted by Kelucha    Tuesday, April 08, 2008 8:28 PM


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